Food is Love: Lessons in buying seafood

Lent isn’t the best time of year for a great variety of local seafood, but it’s the season when we cook more fish. So, how do you know what you’re buying is the best? Look, smell, taste and learn.

Jasper White

Lent isn’t the best time of year for a great variety of local seafood, but it’s the season when we cook more fish. So, how do you know what you’re buying is the best? Look, smell, taste and learn.

With all seafood, the first goal is freshness, which can be determined based on appearance. Look at the color of the gills, the clarity of the eyes and the slime on the outside, which is a sign of freshness, and rigor mortis –– the ultimate clue of freshness.

Most of the fish you’ll buy to cook at home isn’t whole, and freshness indicators for fillets are subtler and take a little more experience to discern. Look for shiny, clear, almost translucent flesh. Whether the fish is pink (salmon, char), red (tuna) or the multitude of white-fleshed fish, the meat should not have a flat, dull color. Any tinges of yellow in white fish are a bad sign.

Seafood carries bacteria, which are referred to as “beneficial” because, as they grow, they let off a smell that is a clear warning. Fresh fish doesn’t smell “fishy” –– old fish do. Fresh fish has a light ocean breeze or seaweed or cucumber aroma. Shucked scallops should be selected using the same quality indicators as fish.

Other shellfish are a little more complicated. Bivalves, such as oysters, clams and mussels, are more complicated. One warning that they share: If they are open or gaping you should avoid them.

After you purchase them, if you see any shells gaping, squeeze them together. If they stay closed, they are OK, but if they don’t, discard them.

All bivalves should feel comparatively heavy for their size; it takes experience to discern this, but if you pay attention when you handle them, you will learn over time.

Oysters and mussels have no visible indicators that could tell you about their freshness, but clams do. When clams are freshly harvested, they have a metallic or almost silver-gray color. As they age, the shells calcify and eventually turn to chalking white.

Lobsters and crabs are most often sold live and are easy to judge. The fresher they are, the more lively their disposition.

When you hold them, their arms, or claws, should be strong and upright. If they are drooping, that is a sign they are nearing the end. Once these creatures die, they are not suitable for consumption.

Lobsters are cannibals; the rubber bands on their claws are as much for their own protection as yours. But in a tank, they do nibble on each other’s antennae. So when the antennae are long –– about the length of their body –– that’s a good sign. If they are short and stubby, they have been around for a while.

I don’t like “previously frozen” fish or shellfish. There is some good quality frozen seafood on the market. The best ways to deal with frozen fish is to buy it frozen and defrost it slowly in your refrigerator.

In the end, probably the most important factor in buying seafood is the fish market or supermarket where it is bought. First impressions count –– is the market pristine? Does it look like you could eat off the floors? Does it smell good? Or does it smell fishy? Is the fish properly displayed on ice?

Remember how I described the look of fresh fillets? Does all the fish look great, or just some of them? These factors all speak of integrity. Is it a busy seafood market? Busy markets create a self-fulfilling prophecy: They are busy, so they sell a lot of product, so they constantly have a fresh supply, so they stay busy.

When you find a market that you like, it is a good idea to make yourself known. Get to know the people who work there. Behind a great market you will find passionate, dedicated, knowledgeable staff or ownership.

Seafood people are odd, myself included. We rarely tire of talking about fish. You can learn a lot at the market if you ask questions. Knowledge is power.

When you shop, you are banking on the integrity of the market. But you are not defenseless or clueless … if you love seafood, if you really pay attention to the nuances of appearance, aroma, flavor, texture and cooking techniques, you will become your own expert. You will know when you are getting your money’s worth.

Jasper White is a chef, author, entrepreneur and owner of Summer Shack restaurants and the Fish Market at Derby Street Shoppes in Hingham. Got a question for Jasper? Send an e-mail to features@ledger.com with “Jasper White” in the subject line.

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